


Fire and Ice and Cuddles

by FrogSpawn



Series: Septiplier/Danti One-Shots [13]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: ABDL, Anti is adorable, Anxiety, Caregiver!Mark, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, He's also sad but not for long, Little!Anti, Little!Jack, Little!Sean, M/M, Mark is a good caregiver, Morning Cuddles, Night, Non-Sexual Age Play, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Platonic Cuddling, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:15:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25736398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrogSpawn/pseuds/FrogSpawn
Summary: Still, the bitten off whimpers and laboured breathing were making his hands tremble and his eyes sting. "Can I help?"A watery laugh, void of any happiness, filled with bitterness and sorrow. Mark felt his gut twist as he listened. His voice was dulled with despair. "You don't care.""I do. Please, can I help?"
Relationships: Mark Fischbach & Antisepticeye, Mark Fischbach & Sean McLoughlin, Mark Fischbach/Sean McLoughlin
Series: Septiplier/Danti One-Shots [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1426423
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66





	Fire and Ice and Cuddles

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from @cloakiplier ,who has a really good ABDL septiplier story which is definitely worth a read if you have the time. 
> 
> I'm really happy with how this one came out, and it was a blast to write. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

It was substantially more difficult to figure out that something was wrong at night when darkness had overwhelmed Mark's vision hours prior and the soft cooes of owls meandering their way through the slight crack in the window was enough of a cover for him to miss the subtle stuttering breaths of the body beside him. In fact it was only several hours later when his partner had risen from the bed and quietly padded out of the room, being light in his movements and attempting to cause as little noise as possible as not to disturb Mark, that Mark had realised there was an issue at all. 

The realisation came slowly, from the trickling of hitched breathing and muffled sobs filtering underneath the bedroom door before the nearly inaudible footsteps moved the heart wrenching sounds out of his field of hearing. Mark lay in bed for a few seconds, simply staring at shadows dancing across the wall, tugging his lower lip between his teeth and contemplating what to do. It was unusual for Sean to become upset and not confide in Mark; even more so for him to shy away and purposefully conceal the fact from him. Depression and anxiety had been a dominant part of Sean's adolescence and he had never attempted to hide that fact from Mark, neither the fact that it affected him to this day.

With deft movements, he shuffled the covers from his torso, teeth further biting into his lip to stifle the wince that desired to escape as icy air hit his bare skin. Eventually he managed to swing his legs over so that he could stand, and after a brief excursion to find a pair of boxers and a shirt, he opened the door and stepped into the equally dark hallway with his heart in his throat.

Mark found him in the kitchen. It had taken a few wrong turns before spying Sean hunched over the counter. The light seemed blinding when Mark had turned it on, and he almost regretted it at the pang of pain that reverberated through his torso at the sight of Sean. His head was blocked from view by shaking shoulders, which shudders coincided with every broken breath. If Mark's lethargic mind had been more awake, he might have considered that Sean tended to move with an energetic fluidity that wasn't present currently. Instead Mark stepped forward quietly and whispered Sean's name. The figure before him froze as much as one could when they had silent tears seeping from their eyes.

"Honey, can I help?"

He didn't respond to Mark's question after a beat, so he stepped forward and slowly began to loop his arms around the other's waist. The tensing of his muscles was instantaneous.

"Go away."

Even if it was just two words, Mark could detect a tremor in the unusually scratchy tone. Something clicked in his brain, gears coated in drowsiness beginning the familiar grind of recognition, assessment and conclusion. He visibly paused, and the body he was holding shrunk further into the counter top, hands white as they gripped it tightly. It was only after Mark had withdrawn his hands, although he stayed hovering behind his back, that he spoke equally as quiet as the other was.

"Anti?"

A choked sob and then Anti was releasing the counter to shuffle to the side, only stopping when his hip bumped the corner of the counters.

Mark worried his lower lip as he surveyed Anti, hands clasped together behind his back as he decided how to act. He hadn't met Anti before - Sean had told him about Anti, certainly, and passed on some words or a sentence that Anti wanted to say to Mark, however they had never interacted otherwise. If he thought long enough he might find some memories of himself with Anti that Dark shared with him before he developed his own body, but Mark needed more immediate assistance, and as he stared at Anti's form it was becoming clear that Anti was just as uncomfortable about the situation as he was.

Still, the bitten off whimpers and laboured breathing were making his hands tremble and his eyes sting. "Anti, can I help?"

A watery laugh, void of any happiness, filled with bitterness and sorrow. Mark felt his gut twist. Anti's voice was dulled with despair. "You don't care."

"I do. Please, can I help?"

Anti remained silent. Mark observed him for another few moments, before wandering out of the kitchen.

Without the pressure of Mark's caring brown eyes and the icy grips of loneliness and isolation sinking back into his bones like an old lover, Anti allowed his knees to buckle and for himself to sink to the floor. The wood was biting against his skin as it dragged against it but he was already numb to this as he leant against the cabinet doors.

Time was quiescent, the air motionless and the owls silent. Everything surrounding Anti was lifeless and cold, as if his presence was causing a bubble of decay and death. Not even the simple constants and facts of life had bothered to continue to function around him. He was alone and that was undeniable. It made no difference if he closed his eyes - there was nobody to watch, nothing to see, no movement to interest him.

Therefore Anti started, jolting up from his slumped position against the cupboards, when something fleecy and fluffy made contact with his front. Eyes snapping open, it was with a disbelieving shock that he saw Mark before him. Mark, who had walked out on him, uncaring about the other side of his partner, crouching several feet before him, trying to push something towards him without touching him. Anti was openly gaping at Mark with something or other swirling in his cerulean eyes as objects that were instantly recognisable to him were offered to him.

"Take them, please. They might help."

A folded navy blanket, covered in simplistic motifs of planets and stars sat underneath a large loaf-shaped spider man plushie, its eyes dark and shiny and focused on Anti. A feeling that Anti was unaccustomed to rose within him - it was comfortingly empty, hazy around the edges and quiet inside. Thoughts of solitude and tears slowly slipping down his cheeks yearned for feeling, the emotion that was brought on by the fleecy blanket and the stuffed toy.

Yet it was hard, with Mark's gaze fixed on him, empathy and a determination to aid Anti painted all over his face and body. He felt himself squirm on the smooth floor, a hand timidly reaching out for the bundle, hidden by the height of it. When the tip of his finger made contact, a surge of loathing at himself rose and crashed over him like a wave. These were Sean's comfort items. Not his.

Mark found his hands clenching and relaxing as he watched the inner battle play out on Anti's face. Evidently he found it difficult to accept comfort, or feel worthy of accepting the comfort. Yet even so he seemed better than when Mark had found him. Tears had dried up leaving red streaks of irritation on his cheeks, and he was shivering although he found himself wondering if it was a combination of the jitteriness Sean always described and the fact that he must be freezing.

A fresh jolt of concern broke through Mark as Anti's eyes welled up again and his mouth opened, gasping for breath as sobs piled back up. But then the blanket and plush were pulled in and Anti was rocking with them, holding Spiderman tightly to his chest and nuzzling against the fleece material of the blanket. It seemed that he had begun to release instead of conceal, Mark thought, or hoped as he struggled not to bundle Anti up in his arms and take him to bed. Cries were loud and rattled throughout the kitchen and his caregiver instincts were driving him wild.

It was only when Anti leant forward before tilting back as his volume of wails rose, that he inched forward and wrapped his arms securely around Anti.

"How about we get you to bed, okay 'ti?"

His voice was deep and soothing, the words tempting Anti. A promise of comfort, of warmth and affection. Already he felt the benefits of having the blanket surrounding his front and something firm on his chest. He thought traitorously of how having something alive embracing him would feel and he feels himself blush slightly, even as he sniffles and whimpers in between bawling. It was as if someone had taken the plug from the sink and all of the water swirled and began to drain, rushing forth from his eyes as the invisible barrier was broken.

And yet still, a stab of self loathing infiltrated his quiet thoughts, as muscled arms carefully arranged themselves around him and lifted him securely from the ground. And still, it mostly faded as Anti allowed himself to fist Mark's shirt with one hand and the blanket with the other, squeezing the life out of spider loaf and snivelling into the blanket. It was only distantly that he acknowledged Mark flicking the light off and then the bumpy ride as Mark navigated the stairs with his arms full of sad baby and eyes covered by darkness.

"I'm not alone," he whined softly, spit dri'm not alone," he whined softly, spit dribbling from his lips to the blanket as he writhed mildly in Mark's grip. There was a hum and a mollifying vibration that travelled to Anti.

"No, buttercup. You're not. I'll always be here. You'll always have me."

Hidden behind the blanket, Anti smiled sweetly and clung to Mark, even as colour coated his cheeks and his whines died down. It was even nicer to be held than he thought, Anti considered absently as he was placed delicately on the bed and tucked underneath the sheets, Mark only disconnecting for a second to shuffle out of his shirt and slide in beside him before embracing Anti again.

The last few wisps of loneliness oozed from him as he melted in the hot arms of Mark. Sleep overtook his thoughts as he cuddled close, holding spider loaf and suckling on the blanket. 

Anti was jostled from slumber by a loud thump and a whispered curse in a language he didn't necessarily understand. The dim light of early morning projected through the window, golden mixing with the blue of of the carpet, which only highlighted the darkening stain was rapidly increasing. He smiled absently, eyes not willing to yet work with his brain, as tan hands swooped in with some bog roll to soak up the sheer liquid.

"'ts pretty." he murmured to himself as the light from the window created ripples of rainbow on the surface of the liquid. Moving the blanket further over him was an unconscious move that released a small coil of tension that had formed in the few hours he had been asleep, and with a soft sigh it reentered his mouth clumsily.

Mark looked up at the words invading his vision and found himself melting into the carpet. Anti was burritoed in the duvet and blanket, only the coffee coloured mop on top of his head poking out, an outrageous bedhead creating wild shapes in the hair. Despite how they had appeared last night, Anti's eyes were bright and unclouded, a subdued sense of mischief and beauty glistening in the pools. It was near impossible to resist swooning, and it was only after the tea had begun to soak into the trousers he was wearing for once that he was forced to rip his gaze away from the baby to finish cleaning up his spill.

Shuffling caught Mark's attention as he finished his task and then there was a warm shape beside him, cuddled into his side from where he was on all fours. Azure eyes stared deeply into his own as Anti reached out of the blanket to pull Mark closer to him, nuzzling against the exposed skin of his waist. "Hey there buddy, how are you feeling?"

There wasn't a pause, it was more of a halt of movement in order to sigh before returning to the rotation against him.

"Better than yesterday. You… helped."

Mark frowned and unconsciously bit his lip again before wincing as sharp teeth came in contact with a scab that had formed there. "Of course. I do care for you, Anti."

The blanket fell down low enough to Mark to see his face. Pale skin flushed high on his cheeks and a small, sincere smile spreading across star filled lips. Those eyes shone like diamonds, sparkling in the golden glow of the sun. Mark felt his heart stutter slightly but refused to look into it.

"Speaking of which, what are you doing out of bed? You only barely got back into it."

There was only a moment where Anti's face morphed into a doleful mix of uncertainty and disbelief before it turned into a playful pout, and then he bit down underneath Mark's ribs. Mark yelped and startled back, falling onto his arse and landing awkwardly on his back, eyes wide at the delight on Anti's face.

Heat sparked in Mark's gut as he thought of Anti compared to hours ago. He seemed alive in a way he wasn't, and a not so small part of his brain told him repeatedly that he would do anything to keep him this way. So Mark did the only thing he could think of - reach up, grab at Anti's waist and pull him down on top and begin to snuggle into his neck. The squeak that was let out was adorable, and the blanket was dropped on Mark's face but that was okay.

After a minute of containing the wriggling and giggling men above him, Mark felt him relax until he was reciprocating the cuddle, smiling dumbly into each other's skin. "Personally, I prefer the bed, but if your preference is the carpet then the carpet it shall be."

Another giggle and there was an icy tongue on Mark's neck. If later questioned by Sean, he could deny squealing like a child and flailing so much that he flung Anti off of him. But in actuality that is exactly what happened, and then Anti's warm laughter was filling the space like a pleasant scent that made Mark tingle and smile until his cheeks ached. Rolling over, Anti embraced Mark to pressed his head into his chest, body still shaking from the laughter that fell from him like rain from the sky. It seemed so natural for Anti to be laughing and happy.

Sweeping a piece of hair out of Anti's eyes as he looked up, Mark grinned and leant forward, kissing his forehead. "I'm so glad you're happy, Anti."


End file.
